Main menu

Post navigation

The Reason For God Study Guide – Epilogue

I am posting a study guide for Tim Keller’s The Reason for God that I created to lead my small group through. I hope it is a blessing.

The Reason for God – Epilogue

Where do we go from here?

Interpretation Questions

What was your favorite part of this chapter?

What made you struggle in this chapter?

What did you learn about God in this chapter?

What did you learn about yourself in this chapter?

Study Guide

Examining your motives

Why do you follow God?

Do you want to use him for your own ends?

We must admit that all of us begin our journey toward God because we want something from him.

Eventually we need to begin thinking, what do I have to do to get him?

If you don’t make this change you will never meet the true God, only a caricature.

Counting the Cost

We must realize that Jesus is Lord.

Bono’s conversation. Jesus is claiming to be Lord rocks our thinking about him.

There is no use saying you believe in Jesus unless that reality changes your views on everything.

Taking Inventory

Set of questions to help you process your questions to God.

Content Issues – Is there parts of the Christian message that you don’t understand or agree with?

Coherence issues – Are there doubts and objections to the Christian faith you cannot resolve?

Cost Issues – Do you perceive that a move into full Christian faith will cost you something dear? What fears do you have about commitment?

You need to do this in community. Do it in a Christian church.

If you do return to God how do you know if this is a first time commitment or a rededication?

I cant tell, and it doesn’t matter.

To do either you must do 2 simple things: 1. Make the move. 2. Believe in Christ

Making the Move

The first thing you must do is Repent.

Not just making a list of things to be sorry for and want to change.

Repentance is when you recognize that your main sin, the sin under the rest of your sins is your self-salvation project.

Repentance is confessing the things besides God himself that you have been relying on for your hope, significance, and security. (repent for the motivations behind our good works)

Second thing to do s Believe in Christ.

Believe means he was show he said he was, that we require salvation, that he rose from the dead.

Faith that changes the life and conn3ects to God is best conveyed as trust.

You don’t have to wait for all doubts and fears to go away to take hold of Christ.

Faith begins as you recognize and reject your alternative trusts and gods and turn instead to the father asking for a relationship to him based on what Jesus has done, not your moral effort or achievements.

Committing to Community

Being a part of community is vital to being a Christian who makes it.

Repentance and faith must be done both individually and communally.

Being in community is hard because Christians are a mess. But it is like the ocean. It is diverse and enormous. That doesn’t mean you don’t go into the water.